Religion can be worthless ...

Monday, May 15, 2017. Religion can be worthless! If you read the letter of James, which is held to be one of the oldest New Testament letters, written only one or two decades after Jesus died, you can find strong and clear statements. James is pointing us to a life which is filled with truth and love, with mercy and a clear view for the priorities which God has for us.

Anger and Mercy …

First of all: anger of men does not generate the righteousness of God. When we are angry, and we have many reasons to be angry on others and angry on ourselves, we are in danger to loose measure, truth and love. Here, we are called to modesty by James, we are called to be doers of the word. Let us read the original text:

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (from James 1)

Perfect Law …

We are invited into the community of father, son and holy spirit. That is the invitation of Christ, that is why he went to the cross: to give us perfect liberty. It is also the law of perseverence in this liberty. It is the law of perceverence in love. This will be richly blessed.

James is great. He just points us to the important things. To visit those who are in real trouble, without their own fault: orphans and widows, that is pure religion before God the father. To keep onself spotless and unstained from the world. Do not take part in evil things, but take from the community of Christ himself.

To be doers of the word is a key point of James here. And he is putting it into the framework of the law of liberty. It is not a fixed set of rules to follow, but the love and mercy of Christ, his freedom, his pure mind and heart! (Roland Potthast) ... more texts